Sunday, November 27, 2005
A Political Spectrum
This is an idea that has probably been hashed much more completely and with much more research than I'm giving it. For example, read the Wikipedia entry on the political spectrum. I'm just interested in what stages the political spectrum actually consist of. Starting on the far left and moving to the far right, here's my view of the American system at least. Fill in the blanks for me and also tell me if you think a category is misplaced.
Communism -> Socialism -> ACLU -> Green Party -> Ted Kennedy -> Average Democrats -> Centrist Democrats -> Ohio <- Libertarians <- Arnold Schwartzenegger <- McCain, Giuliani, Whitman <- Average Republicans <- Dubya <- Christian Right <- Jerry Falwell <- Rich Businessmen <- Laissez Faire <- Anarchists
This is my view of American politics. A singularly linear model is necessarily incomplete, but I've simplified. I wanted to account for the differences between religious Republicans and Big Business Republicans, but it's impossible in this model. In the end, it may just come full circle, since some people insist on Anarchy being a far left position. I don't see how that's possible, however, since Republicans support small government and a lack of central control, and anarchy is the complete absence of control. It would seem that it's just a few steps away from that. In my view, communism and anarchy are complete opposites.
Communism -> Socialism -> ACLU -> Green Party -> Ted Kennedy -> Average Democrats -> Centrist Democrats -> Ohio <- Libertarians <- Arnold Schwartzenegger <- McCain, Giuliani, Whitman <- Average Republicans <- Dubya <- Christian Right <- Jerry Falwell <- Rich Businessmen <- Laissez Faire <- Anarchists
This is my view of American politics. A singularly linear model is necessarily incomplete, but I've simplified. I wanted to account for the differences between religious Republicans and Big Business Republicans, but it's impossible in this model. In the end, it may just come full circle, since some people insist on Anarchy being a far left position. I don't see how that's possible, however, since Republicans support small government and a lack of central control, and anarchy is the complete absence of control. It would seem that it's just a few steps away from that. In my view, communism and anarchy are complete opposites.
# posted by ChuckJerry : 11/27/2005 10:49:00 AM
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I think you have the ACLU should be to the right of the Green Party.
And if you're doing a linear model, you kind of have to leave laissez-faire and anarchists off.
Also, Republicans *nominally* support small government and a lack of central control.
You can't use real-life elected officials in a scale of political philosophy because, whether it's Clinton signing the Defense of Marriage Act or Bush signing the colossal prescription benefits bill, politicians are all sellouts.
And if you're doing a linear model, you kind of have to leave laissez-faire and anarchists off.
Also, Republicans *nominally* support small government and a lack of central control.
You can't use real-life elected officials in a scale of political philosophy because, whether it's Clinton signing the Defense of Marriage Act or Bush signing the colossal prescription benefits bill, politicians are all sellouts.
I agree with the last part. I was having trouble coming up with words for "The thing that Ted Kennedy represents" or "The perceived spot on the spectrum of John McCain" so I took the easy way out.
Why do I have to leave off laissez faire and anarchy?
Why do I have to leave off laissez faire and anarchy?
I think they're just impossible to place. I mean, there's no way that lasseiz-faire is "to the right" of conservative Christians in the sense of things like abortion, gay marriage, legalized pot, etc.
When discussing social issues, the Religious Right should be on the far right part of the spectrum. Libertarians could be considered 'liberals' on social issues. If we are discussing economics or international relations, the spectrum would change to some extent.
A personal note: I believe social issues should not even be discussed politically, as we are made up of many people with many beliefs. We are supposed to be a melting pot of many different cultures and yet we act so uptight about anything that goes outside of what is called 'normal'.
A personal note: I believe social issues should not even be discussed politically, as we are made up of many people with many beliefs. We are supposed to be a melting pot of many different cultures and yet we act so uptight about anything that goes outside of what is called 'normal'.
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: Sunday, November 27, 2005
: Sunday, November 27, 2005
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